A Brokenhearted Clown
by GoldenManekiNeko
Summary: This story focuses on the details of Uncle Arthur's mentally abusive relationship with Aretha. Takes place during The House Uncle Arthur Built.
1. Chapter 1

It was a cool, breezy night in the streets of New York, Madison Avenue as the goofy, fun-loving Warlock, known as Arthur appeared on the sidewalk in a puff of blue smoke. He was dressed in his infamous, dark-blue tuxedo, red-tie and black loafers, which he often wore in the place of his traditional Warlock attire when he didn't want to draw too much attention to his true, magical identity to the other mortals. He began to stroll down the sidewalk with nothing but the soothing click-clack of the souls of his loafers tapping against the concrete as he walked to keep him company. He took in a breath of the fresh cool, night air as he mentally noted how nice of a night it was. Sometimes when it was nice outside, the brunette Warlock loved to go for a nice, long stroll and take in the scenery. He enjoyed life so much.

Tonight was particularly quiet. Arthur took notice of how there weren't very many people walking the streets of the particularly busy city that night; perhaps because of the time of night it was. Arthur didn't mind though; it meant he had the large city to himself along with a few moments of peace and quiet to enjoy his peaceful stroll around town. It was when the Warlock felt his stomach grumble with hunger that he realized that he had forgotten to eat dinner before heading out for his nightly stroll around town. He wasn't in the mood for anything too fancy; just something to hold him over for the night so he scanned his surroundings in search of the nearest restaurant. He spotted a sandwich shop then disappeared and reappeared at the very front of the long line of people waiting impatiently to buy a sandwich.

"I'll have one turkey and ham sandwich please." Arthur ordered his food as he tuned out the complaints of the line of angry customers behind him. The people who weren't complaining were confused at just how he had managed to cut in line so quickly without anybody noticing him. It didn't take long for the guy behind the counter to prepare his sandwich as the brunette Warlock politely accepted it with a quick, 'thank you' before disappearing in a puff of blue smoke without paying, leaving the poor employee in a state of angered confusion. Arthur laughed in his usual loud and slightly maniac way as he reappeared at one of the restaurant's outside tables.

"Looks like I gave that guy 'the slip' instead of 'a tip'..." The Warlock laughed to himself before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Is this seat taken darling?" The voice of a female asked as Arthur looked up to see a stunningly beautiful woman with emerald-green eyes and shoulder-length auburn hair that curled at the end. She was wearing a lovely, white evening gown that sparkled in the moonlight and flowed gently in the cool, night breeze, white high-heels and expensive-looking jewelry. She was no doubt a wealthy woman. Arthur couldn't help but blush as he began to feel a twinge of nervousness in the pit of his stomach.

"Y-Yes-I mean no! No...Won't ya have a seat?" Arthur stuttered nervously before lifting his hand to gesture to the empty chair across from him. In the process, he accidentally knocked over the saltshaker, letting out a swearword under his breath at his dilemma. The girl giggled, finding his nervousness and clumsiness rather adorable as she politely took the seat across from him.

"My goodness...How embarrassing eh?" She grinned before letting out another giggle as Arthur scrambled to clean up the mess in the most human way possible.

"Yeah...Sorry about that..." Arthur apologized with a nervous chuckle before throwing a handful of salt over his shoulder.

"For good luck..." He explained, unaware that he had accidentally sprinkled the salt in Mrs. Kravitz's hair as she gave him a funny, yet rather annoyed look. Her husband Abner however, didn't seem to notice as he continued to scarf down his food.

"I don't believe in luck..." The woman replied with yet another giggle. She couldn't help but find herself attracted to this strange, clumsy man.

"O-Oh...Well...My name's Arthur..." Arthur nervously introduced himself as he held his sweaty hand out to her for a handshake. He instantly felt an attraction to her from the first minute he laid eyes on her but he knew he had to resist developing feelings for her. He had seen the grief his niece Samantha had to endure from both her own family and The Witch's Council for being in love with a mortal and he didn't want to take the same risk. Besides, there was no telling how this young lady would act if she found out he was a Warlock. Darrin was barely comfortable with the fact that Samantha was a Witch; what were the chances that this woman wouldn't fear him and run away if she found out his true species.

"Aretha...Charmed I'm sure..." The woman introduced herself before shaking his sweaty yet warm, soft hand. She felt herself blush as well once their hands had made contact as the two felt a noticeable spark between them.

"Nice to meet ya Ms. Aretha." The Warlock smiled as he gradually began to regain some of his confidence. Maybe he would just have a nice chat with the lady and take it no further than that.

"I say; it is rather nice meeting you too Sir Arthur...You know? I saw what you did..." Aretha whispered lowly, though this still caught Gladys Kravitz's attention as she listened closely to eavesdrop on their conversation. Arthur's face fell as he felt his heart begin to pound in his chest.

"W-What do ya mean?" He asked fearfully. He knew his magical abilities had now been discovered by this woman. There was no telling what she was going to think of him now.

"Why what you did in line of course darling..." Aretha replied before holding out her hand. Much to Arthur's surprise, a Champaign bottle appeared in her sleek, dainty hand in a puff of white smoke.

"You're a Warlock aren't you?" She asked as the Champaign bottle magically popped it's top and two glasses appeared on the table. Arthur relaxed a bit once he realized she was a Witch before bursting into an uproar of relieved laughter. He now felt more comfortable around her as she poured a glass of Champaign for both him and herself.

"ABNER?! ABNER!" Gladys Kravitz screamed as she stood up abruptly and pointed at Aretha's display of Witchcraft.

"Oops! Let's get outta here..." Artur took Aretha's hand in his, before the two disappeared along with the Champaign and glasses before Abner had a chance to see any of it of course.

"An empty table...how interestin'..." Abner rolled his eyes as Gladys stood dumfounded.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. Chapter 2: Dancing In The Moonlight

Within seconds, Arthur and Aretha appeared on the sidewalk, under a streetlamp in a puff of blue smoke after just having escaped the commotion they had just caused at the sandwich restaurant. Arthur let out a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his brow, now sure that they were safe before smiling his usual, over-joyed smile at the auburn Witch next to him. She smiled a warm, shy smile back as her emerald eyes met with his icy-blue ones. The two blushed and shyly diverted their eyes back toward the ground, each waiting for the other to break the silence. Arthur decided to be the one to break it as he twirled his hand around in a quick motion, causing their Champaign bottle from earlier to appear in his hand in a puff of blue smoke.

"Good thing I saved our Champaign..." He giggled as their two glasses appeared in front of them in a puff of blue smoke. The glasses remained in midair as Arthur carefully poured the contents of the bottle into both glasses. He then made the bottle disappear before clapping his hands and causing a violin to appear, floating in midair like their glasses as it played an elegant tune on it's own. Aretha smiled at the lovely scenery that the brunette Warlock had created for the two of them before elegantly taking up her glass in her hand.

"Cheers!" Arthur announced as he picked up his own glass, raising it up a bit to clank with hers.

"To us!" Aretha giggled before clanking her glass against his. The two then both took a rather large and comical sip, downing their alcoholic beverages within seconds like a man dying of thirst in the desert. After the two had finished their drinks, they made their glasses disappear in two puffs of smoke, both of their own individual colors. Now would be Arthur's chance to make his move. He could feel his heart pounding as he once again made eye contact with the beautiful woman across from him.

"M-May I have this dance?" He asked nervously as he offered his shaky hand out for her to take with an adorably-shy smile.

"Why of course darling..." Aretha smiled softly before gracefully slipping her sleek, slender hand into his wide, masculine one. Arthur pulled her close as the two embraced, locking eyes once more. The two then gradually began to slow dance to the elegant music playing from the violin that Arthur had conjured up. The streetlamp provided their spotlight as they stepped and twirled gracefully within it.

"I say Arthur; you do dance divinely..." Aretha smiled as she gazed into his icy-blue eyes lovingly.

"Thanks; Maurice taught me these moves..." Arthur replied with a shy smile as he stared back into her emerald-green eyes with an equal amount of passion.

"Who is Maurice?" Aretha questioned, her face twisting into a state of confusion.

"Oh yes! Silly me; Maurice is my sister's ex-lover or as I like to call him: Mr. Perfect..." Arthur replied with a small chuckle, upon realizing that a complete stranger he just met would have no idea who his sister's ex-husband would be, no matter how 'great and powerful' the old man claimed he was.

"You have a sister?" Aretha asked in pure interest in an attempt to start a conversation with the brunette Warlock, whom she was dancing with.

"Two actually; I have an older sister named Endora, she's a real Witch and an older sister named Clara but she's more senile than The Egyptians." Arthur explained with a small chuckle. He couldn't help but feel excited that his auburn companion had taken such interest in him.

"Ces't La Vie..." Aretha shrugged in response with a small laugh as Arthur laughed along with her.

"You know Arthur; me and a few friends of mine are going to be getting together for movies and boardgames this Friday. Would you care to join us?" Aretha asked the brunette Warlock as she continued to slow-dance with him.

"Sure, I'd love to." Arthur happily accepted her invitation as the auburn Witch rested her head on his broad shoulder while they embraced contently, continuing to dance in slow, small circles.

Arthur's Older sister, Endora was gliding through the night sky on her broom. Since she wasn't trying to blend in with the other mortals at the moment, unlike her younger brother, she was in her usual Witch attire: A lime-green tulle-robe, a lavender scarf, draped over her shoulders and her fiery-red hair tied into a messy bun to match it's flaming appearance. Sometimes on cool, cloudy nights like this one, she enjoyed going on a peaceful ride though the clouds, where no mortals from below could see her so she could enjoy a few small moments of peace and quiet to herself. She mainly did this to blow off steam after enduring a full day of Darrin's insults and constant complaining. She still failed to understand why her intelligent daughter had decided to marry such a spazz.

It was then she noticed her younger brother Arthur...but who was that hussy he was dancing with? She thought to herself, her protective older-sister instincts beginning to kick in. Arthur may have been a nuisance to her but he was still her younger brother. Her vulnerable, sensitive younger brother...A feeling of dread kicked in as she swooped down closer overhead to get a better listen-in on what was being said between the two.

After the two had finished their dance, Arthur telepathically made his floating violin disappear in a puff of blue smoke because he and Aretha had begun to gaze into each other's eyes intently once again.

"You have beautiful eyes..." Arthur spoke up, breaking the silence. Aretha slowly began to lean in, her lips gently brushing against Arthur's, causing them to tremble nervously. She then began kiss him gently, yet passionately as the brunette Warlock didn't hesitate to kiss back, caressing his partner's cheeks gently as he did so. She wrapped her arms around him in return as they began to kiss each other a bit more intently.

This of course enraged Endora as she and her broom both disappeared from the sky in a puff of green smoke. She then reappeared behind Arthur. She had to do something to stop this; her sweet, fragile, innocent younger brother was locking lips with some tramp she didn't even know personally. Without warning, she quickly grabbed Arthur by his shoulders from behind and protectively yanked him out of Aretha's arms.

"Endora what are you doing?!" Arthur gasped in surprise and confusion as Endora coddled him protectively into her bosom.

"And who pre-tell are you?" Aretha sneered as she narrowed her eyes at the older Witch in front of her.

"I happen to be Arthur's older sister..." Endora held Arthur a bit closer as she narrowed her eyes back at the auburn-haired Witch, who then suddenly smiled in return.

"Ah! You must be the Witch of an older sister that Arthur told me about...I am Aretha; pleased to meet you Pandora..." Aretha mispronounced her name with a teasing smirk. This angered Endora further as she often did this to Darrin and doing it to her would be like a comparison of her to that spazz of a mortal.

"Endora!" She hastily corrected.

"That is what I said..." Aretha lied before smiling at Arthur once again.

"See you Friday night darling..." She smiled before planting a sweet gentle kiss on Arthur's cheek. She then disappeared in a puff of white smoke, leaving Arthur in a lovestruck state and Endora in a state of enragement.

"Arthur; just what where you thinking?! Letting that hussy all over you like that?!" Endora scolded in disapproval.

"She's stolen my heart...her eyes are as beautiful as the stars in the night sky and her voice is like a sweet symphony..." Arthur replied in a lovestruck manner. He was practically buzzing with joy at the moment. It was worse than Endora had thought; her brother had already fallen in love with the she-devil. She had to break him of this.

"More like nails on a chalkboard! Arthur; that woman will drop you like a hot potato in a matter of seconds!" Endora scoffed.

"What?! And just what makes you say that Pandora?" Arthur growled, taking great offense to his sister's statement. Did his own sister truly believe that he was incapable of getting a beautiful woman to fall in love with him? Endora's eye twitched upon being called by her mispronounced name once again; this would of course be the beginning of yet another one of her and Arthur's childish arguments.

"Because you are a foolish, immature clown; you're annoying, obnoxious, loud and a complete simpleton! She is never going to put up with your foolishness! no woman in her right mind would!" She growled in annoyance but she instantly regretted it once she saw the look of shock and sadness plastered across her younger brother's countenance. This pained look however was soon replaced with a look of anger.

"How dare you tell me I'm incapable of finding love! What do you know about love anyway?! Maurice left ya decades ago because of your foul attitude! At least I'm pleasant to be around!" Arthur snapped, his voice raising with each insult. Endora had a real talent for making him feel lower than dirt after he had previously felt like he was on top of the world and he was fed up with it.

Endora just took the insults; she deserved them after what she had said to her younger brother and she knew it. What was worse is that he was right; he was right about everything, which began to make her feel even more guilty for the things she had said to him. She didn't mean it though; she had just said those things in the heat of the moment.

"You have no right to judge me! Goodnight and goodbye Endora!" Arthur ended his rant on that note before disappearing in a puff of blue smoke. Endora considered going after him to apologize but she assumed it would be best to give him some time alone for a few days. She then disappeared in a puff of green smoke.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. Night of The Psychotic Warlock Pt:1

It was a dark and stormy Friday night when Arthur appeared at the front gates of the large mansion in a puff of blue smoke. The brisk, cold, night air whipped the icy rains sideways as the lightning flashed and the thunder clapped. Since the brunette Warlock had arrived to meet up with his new girlfriend and her friends for a casual gathering, he was wearing his usual Warlock attire: a black tuxedo, black-loafers and a crimson cape, that fell gracefully above his waste. He squinted his eyes, struggling to read the address as the sharp, cold rain pierced the skin on his face like needles.

"This must be the place..." He muttered to himself before casually fading through the gate like a ghost. He decided he was just going to be himself that night to prove to his judgmental, older sister that his beloved Aretha would love him for the prank-loving clown he truly was and that he was capable of finding true love. It's not like he hasn't found true love in the past after all. He stepped underneath the awning above the front door, using a spell to magically dry his cloths and hair before ringing the doorbell. Since Aretha had given him the address to a friend's house instead of her own, he wanted to be sure that he had the right address before just poofing in like he normally would do with his niece, son or sisters.

"Oh! That must be Arthur!" Aretha grinned before standing up from the pastel-pink, circular couch and hurrying over to the door. She too was wearing her regular Witch attire since she was spending a good portion of the night with her friends and boyfriend, who were also supernatural beings like herself. Her Witch's attire consisted of a long, white, tulle dress that only hung from one shoulder and a pair of white high-heels.

"Ringin' the doorbell?" Aretha's friend Penelope asked. Penelope was a beautiful, young woman in her mid-twenties. She had shoulder-length, golden-blonde hair, in a style similar to Aretha's but with bangs, dark-blue eyes and she wore a pastel-pink hoop-dress, with white frills and puffy sleeves with a pair of white boots. She also spoke in a soft, Southern accent. She was also the friend of Aretha's that was hosting the gathering.

"I thought you said this guy was a Warlock..." Katrina growled suspiciously. She was the meaner out of the three friends, being an older lady, around Clara's age. She had short, red hair with bangs, lime-green eyes and she wore a plum-purple, knee-length dress with a lime-green scarf and plum-purple high-heels.

"He is, he's probably just being polite. He doesn't know us that well after all." Aretha defended before opening the door. She did not expect however, to be greeted by her new lover hopping through the front door and over her head on a pogo stick.

"Boingy! Boingy! Boingy!" Arthur cheered excitedly as he happily bounced throughout the house, knocking over expensive vases and statues, causing them to shatter to the floor. He then landed his pogo stick on the coffee table in between Penelope and Katrina, breaking it in half and causing both ends fly up and hit the poor Witches in the face, knocking them to the floor before he continued to bounce around the house.

"Aretha! He's your boyfriend; do somethin' with him!" Penelope demanded as she magically mended all of her broken possessions that were destroyed by the hands of the brunette Warlock.

"Something horrible!" Katrina added as she dusted the dirt from her dress.

"Um, Arthur darling? Do you think perhaps you can refrain from using your pogo stick indoors?" Aretha asked nervously.

"Oh, sure thing sweetheart." Arthur smiled before hopping from his pogo stick and magically turning it into a tray of chocolate truffles.

"Sweets for my sweet?" he asked as he levitated one of them over to his auburn lover.

"Aw Arthur you shouldn't have." Aretha smiled as she happily ate her delicious, chocolate truffle.

"Would you ladies care to try a few?" Arthur asked with a mischievous smirk as he levitated the tray over to Aretha's two friends.

"Well don't mind if I do." Penelope smiled before her and Katrina both levitated two of the truffles up to their mouths. When Katrina took a bite, a sickening crack was heard as her mouth was filled with the contents of a raw egg. She gagged and wretched before spitting it out into the nearest garbage can. Penelope gagged and wrecked as well upon finding out that her truffle was filled with cold meat.

"The old chocolate covered raw egg and meatball trick! Works every time!" Arthur laughed hysterically at their misfortunes as he slapped his knee and clutched his stomach.

"That wasn't funny!" Katrina snapped, wiping the contents of the raw egg from her mouth.

"It didn't even taste good!" Penelope added. Arthur already didn't like them but they were Aretha's friends so he would try to put up with their uptight attitudes.

"Alright, alright killjoys. Here's some mints for ya." Arthur rolled his eyes before making a tin of cinnamon-flavored mints appear in front of the ladies. They didn't hesitate to take one; anything to get the retched taste of raw egg and old meat out of their mouths. Their eyes widened suddenly and their faces began to turn red before the two spat the chewed up remains of the supposed mints into the garbage can once again.

"Ha! Ya fell for the spicy ,cinnamon-candy, mint prank too!" Arthur cackled as Penelope and Katrina both glared at him then at Aretha, mentally cursing her for inviting such a fool to their casual gathering. Aretha smiled nervously once again before attempting to break the tension in the room.

"Arthur? These are my friends: Katrina and Penelope. Ladies? This is my new boyfriend Arthur." Aretha introduced.

"Pleased to meet ya ladies" Arthur held out his hand for a handshake. Penelope smiled politely and shook his hand, only to be electrocuted at high voltage. She let out a shriek as Arthur began laughing hysterically once again.

"What kind of guy are you?!" Katrina snapped, getting in Arthur's face as he shrank down a bit in fear.

"Don't you bite me!" He playfully warned before Aretha got in between the two to break up their arguing.

"Okay now! How about we watch a couple of movies? I know you've been dying to see that 'Carrie' movie that just came out on V.H.S Penelope and I also brought a copy of 'Night of The Living Dead' with me." Aretha suggested with a smile.

"Sounds good to me..." Penelope scoffed, walking past them before taking a seat on the couch.

"But we're watching 'Carrie' first..." Katrina added with a pout before taking a seat next to her blonde companion. Arthur and Aretha were the next to take their seats before they began watching the movie.

"Ya know, this movie was believable up until the point where a mortal began bendin' things with her mind..." Penelope pointed out as Katrina and Aretha nodded in agreement. Arthur however, found the movie to be boring and dull and decided to strike up a more interesting conversation.

"Hey, do you girls know who Helen Keller is?" He asked, much to the others' confusion.

"Um...yeah?"

"Yes?" Katrina and Penelope answered in questioning tones.

"Did ya know she had a playground?" Arthur asked.

"No..." Aretha answered, curious to see where the brunette was going with this conversation.

"Yeah, well neither did she." Arthur laughed, causing Katrina and Penelope to roll their eyes.

"Too soon..." Aretha added as Arthur ended his laughter with an awkward, "Oh..." The four continued watching the brutally-long movie until it finally ended.

"Well I'm going to go powder my nose before we put in the next movie darlings." Aretha announced before excusing herself to the restrooms to reapply her makeup.

"Hurry back my love!" Arthur called out in a lovestruck manner before blowing a kiss to her.

"Would ya'll like to see my brand-new, li'l-ol' car?" Penelope asked before standing up from the couch and stretching.

"I would love to darling; that sounds simply divine." Katrina agreed before standing up as well.

"Me too, plus it'd give us all a chance to stretch are legs." Arthur stood up before beginning to run around the room and kick his legs at random in an attempt to restore the circulation to his numbed legs.

"Pins and needles! Pins and needles! Pins and needles!" He yelped as he continued to comically run in circles around the living room. Katrina and Penelope exchanged annoyed, yet confused glances; it was going to be a long night for the both of them.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. Night of The Psychotic Warlock Pt:2

So Penelope lead Katrina and Arthur out to her large driveway in the freezing-cold rain to show them her brand-new, pastel-pink Limousine. It was of course protected from the harsh weather conditions by a tarp which she had to remove momentarily in order to show it off to her company.

"Well, here it is! Do ya'll like it? I poofed this li'l-ol' thing up myself." Penelope bragged with a confident smirk as Katrina appeared impressed. Arthur on the other hand gave her a look of both confusion and utter disgust as he mentally questioned why any Witch or Warlock, other than his niece Samantha would want to attempt to travel around in a mortal-made device. Samantha's reasoning was understandable in his opinion since he knew she was only doing it for the sake of her beloved husband: Darrin's happiness but a stuck-up, princess of a Witch like Penelope using something a mortal would use was quite confusing since he assumed she would think too highly of herself to stoop down to a mortal's level.

"So why and when would ya ever use this...thing?" Arthur finally decided to ask in the politest manner he could muster up without sounding sarcastic.

"Well, with as many parties and li'l-ol' gatherin's I go to, the mortals were beginnin' to question how I got there so quickly by walkin' so the car's just somethin' I can appear in to give them the allusion that i drove all that way to their li'l-ol' gatherin's." Penelope explained, earning an understanding nod from Arthur. He for once agreed with her logic and actually questioned whether or not he should do the same. He had received quite a few questions from Larry Tate and Darrin's parents about his sudden, quick arrivals, especially when they would never see his car in Samantha and Darrin's driveway. Katrina seemed to agree with this logic herself because of course she did. Arthur could tell she was a real brownnoser toward Penelope for some reason. Probably because of how wealthy she was.

"What a cleverly, brilliant idea Penelope! Wherever did you come up with such a brilliant plan?" Katrina asked in an all-too painfully obvious fake tone but Penelope didn't seem to notice.

"Well, I was goin' out for a li'l-ol' stroll when I noticed this pretty li'l-ol' Limousine at this car dealership so I twitched my li'l-ol' nose and poofed it to my li'l-ol' mansion." Penelope proudly explained.

"Look at the wheels! There's a different rim on each tire so there're all different colors." She bragged, pointing to the wheels as Katrina continued to fawn over how amazing it was. Arthur rolled his eyes from both boredom and annoyance. He considered using his magic to pop the tires or make the car an ugly, rust-color when he noticed Aretha exiting the mansion to catch up with them all.

"I'm back darlings! What did I miss?" She asked as Arthur smirked and put his arm around her.

"Aretha my dear! You're just in time to see Penelope's sausage of a car and apparently the wheels change colors." Arthur mocked with his usual taunting laughter as Penelope narrowed her eyes at him in disapproval, appearing rather offended.

"Excuse me?!" Aretha questioned before bending down to get a better look at the tires while Arthur continued to laugh hysterically.

"Why yes, there's a different rim on each tire so they're all different colors..." Penelope corrected the brunette Warlock's lie. It was then, what appeared to be a goblin, wearing a black tuxedo came zooming toward Arthur on a small scooter. The brunette Warlock let out a gasp before disappearing just in the nick of time before the goblin could run over him. He then reappeared a few feet away, appearing unamused by the goblin's antics.

"Esteves! You're back!" Penelope smiled as the goblin cackled while continuing to ride in circles around the yard and driveway.

"Arthur? This is my li'l-ol' butler: Esteves. I know ya'll haven't met yet but it seems like you two can relate since you're both goblins..." Penelope teased with a small giggle as her goblin butler began speeding toward Arthur on his tiny scooter once again with a loud cackle.

"You'd better slow that Mustang down Sally!" Arthur growled before stepping aside at the last minute and grabbing the goblin by the collar and tail of his tuxedo. He then yanked the poor creature from his scooter, lifted him up over his head and slammed him down onto the hood of Penelope's Limo, hard enough to dent it and cause it to smoke, much to all three of the girls' horror.

"Hey Penelope? Your car's wrecked!" Arthur teased before bursting into yet another uproar of laughter.

"Alright, come on. Let's go watch 'Night of The Livin' Dead'; it's cold out here and I'm bored..." Arthur remarked before returning inside. The second the brunette Warlock returned indoors, another Witch with long, black, curly hair, dressed in a maid's outfit, similar to Esmerelda's came rushing outside, barely able to run in her high-heels.

"What's goin' on out here?!" She exclaimed in a nasally voice. She then gasped upon seeing Esteves laying unconscious on top of what was left of Penelope's pink Limousine.

"Nothin' Fran! Just clean this mess up!" Penelope ordered before storming back inside. Aretha and Katrina followed close behind her as Penelope's housekeeper, known as Fran rushed to Esteves' aid before using her magic both to heal him and to magically repair the damages done to Penelope's Limo.

Once they returned inside, Penelope magically levitated the next movie into the V.C.R and used her magic to play it, being too lazy to do any of it manually while Katrina and Arthur returned to their original seats on the couch. Aretha however, took a seat on the couch a good distance away from Arthur. This confused the Warlock as Aretha was comfortably cuddled up to him when they were watching the last movie. Once the movie was set up, Penelope returned to her original seat on the couch, next to Katrina as well while Fran reentered the mansion, carrying Esteves bridal-style. If Arthur didn't know any better, he would assume that the housekeeper had a thing for the goblin butler, which she probably did.

"Hey girl...Whatcha doin' all the way over there?" Arthur asked flirtatiously with a seductive smirk.

"J-Just sitting here darling..." Aretha replied nervously with a shy smile. After the way Arthur had been behaving that night, she felt rather uncomfortable around him but she of course wasn't willing to admit this to his face. This however, didn't occur to Arthur in the slightest as he scooted over closer to the auburn Witch, placing his strong, yet gentle arm around her and pulling her close to the heat of his soft, warm body. In his mind he could trust Aretha and he had the uttermost confidence that she would not judge him or think badly of him in the slightest. Aretha hesitantly rested her head on his firm chest like she had done earlier, during the last movie as she took in the strong, yet sweet aroma of his heavily applied cologne and listened to the slow, steady beat of his heart.

"Ya know Valentines Day's comin' up..." Arthur pointed out with a small smirk. Aretha knew what was coming next.

"How's about you and me go and paint the town red?" He added. This was his own unique way of asking the auburn Witch out on a date for Valentines Day. Aretha needed to think of a polite way to tell him no and fast. Maybe she would tell an inappropriate joke to turn him off and make him reconsider.

"Red? Oh but I do so detest the color red; blue is a much more lovelier color. Don't you think?" She replied with a nervous grin. Arthur only chuckled before smiling and kissing the top of her head lovingly.

"Good one darling! Wish I hada said it..." He congratulated before resting his head gently on top of hers.

"Feel free to cling to me if ya get scared..." He added flirtatiously.

"I'll hold you to it..." Aretha joked with a nervous smile. What was she thinking? Arthur had done nothing but pull pranks and tell inappropriate jokes all night. The joke she told was practically like sealing her fate in an everlasting marriage to him in his own language.

"Hey lovebirds! Do you mind keeping it down so we can watch the movie?!" Katrina growled.

"Ah shaddup and stuff some gum in your pieholes..." Arthur retorted before magically causing two gum balls to appear in front of both Katrina and Penelope. Anything to silence them from further interrupting his and Aretha's special moment. After all the pranks Arthur had previously pulled on her friends that night, Aretha felt the need to try to warn them but it was too late; Katrina had already attempted to bite into her gum ball, only to end up shattering a great deal of her teeth.

"That was a jawbreaker!" She shrieked upon realization as Arthur began to laugh hysterically at her pain. Aretha was both horrified and intimidated. Arthur's pranks were cute at first but now they were becoming dangerous.

"He didn't do anything to my gum!" Penelope announced as she happily chewed on her gum, blissfully unaware that it had dyed her teeth dark blue. Arthur only laughed harder as Aretha began to shrink down a bit. She had to do something; he was embarrassing her greatly.

"Arthur! How dare you! You are embarrassing me in front of my friends! They can't even tell you to, 'please be quiet,' while we're watching the movie without you pranking them! Stop your foolishness this instant!" Aretha scolded, much to Arthur's shock and horror as he felt his heart sink.

Foolishness? Everything Endora had told him the other night began to swirl through his memories as he released Aretha from his warm embrace and scooted to the other side of the couch, a good distance away from her. She didn't seem to care as her soon to be ex boyfriend began pouting angrily, muttering silent insults, directed at her under his breath. He had seen the error of his ways for placing too much of his trust into her as soon as he did. She had judged him just like Endora said she would. He was tempted to end his relationship with her right then and there, in front of everyone or worse...magically make her physical appearance that of a stereotypical, old-crone of a Witch, complete with green skin and warts.

Nobody would want her after that and it would serve her right for judging him. He felt a lump of sadness creep up into his throat and a sharp pain in the pit of his chest once he had remembered the cruel things his own, older sister had said to him the other night. She was right, no women in her right mind would want to date an immature, prank-loving clown like him. He was beginning to feel lonely and isolated now as he could hear Fran and Esteves happily chatting away and laughing in the other room. He mentally cursed them for being so happy and carefree when he was so lonely, heartbroken and miserable. He sat through the rest of the painfully long movie in heartbreaking agony though he remained emotionless on the outside.

Relief swept over him once the movie had finally ended as he was finally able to leave and hopefully never see his Witch of an ex girlfriend again. He quickly stood up and attempted to teleport back home, only to realize that his powers had failed him. When Arthur was upset, sad to be exact, his powers tended not to work right, sometimes not at all, depending on the state of his sadness. This was not good as the poor Warlock was already on the verge of tears. He needed to leave and fast. The last thing he needed was for Aretha to see him cry.

"Aren't you going to poof home darling?" Aretha asked in legitimate concern. She may have greatly disapproved of the way he had behaved that night but she was beginning to rethink her decision of breaking things off with him. She reached out for his arm but he snatched it away from her, anger now visible in his ice-blue eyes despite the tears beginning to form in them. This surprised Aretha a bit as she now began to feel guilty. What had she done to him?

"I'm going to walk home since it's such a lovely night outside..." He lied through gritted teeth before sharply turning away from her and violently swinging open the front door to let himself out. He winced as he was greeted by a strong gust of wind and sharp icy rain pelting him mercilessly before he stormed off out into the cold, unforgiving weather. Since he didn't have his cane with him, which was his only means of transportation when his powers weren't working, A.K.A the Warlock's equivalent to a Witch's broom, he was forced to walk home and he was too embarrassed to admit that his powers currently weren't working.

"Arthur wait!" Aretha ran out after him, beginning to chase him through the storm.

"Arthur stop! Wait! Come back! You'll catch your death out here!" She called out to him as she lifted her dress to scurry after him with great difficulty due to her high-heels but Arthur just walked a bit faster. All he wanted was to get away from her at the moment.

"Ya'd probably like that wouldn't ya?! Since I'm such a fool! Then I wouldn't be around to embarrass ya anymore!" He sobbed as tears finally began to cascade down his cheeks, blending in with the rain as he turned to face her, glaring at her angrily.

"And since i'm such a foolish embarrassment to ya, ya can just spend Valentines Day alone! How about that?!" He huffed as Aretha began feel painfully guilty about the mental damage she had inflicted upon him. She felt even worse when the poor Warlock had begun to break down into a fit of gentle, broken sobs.

"Arthur, I didn't mean it...any of it...I-I was just a little angry about the way you behaved around my friends tonight and everything I said was in the heat of the moment...I still really like you and I'm willing to give this another try...Please don't cry okay?" Aretha apologized before giving Arthur a gentle peck on the cheek. She was relieved to see Arthur smile after this act of affection.

"We're still on for Valentines Day, right?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah..." Arthur replied in a slightly lovestruck manner before a blue aura surrounded him and he began to levitate. His powers were working once again but not to their full extent since he was still just beginning to come down from the shock of it all.

"Get home safe; alright Arthur?" Aretha announced with concern as Arthur began to forlornly float back toward his home.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	5. Like Father Like Son

Endora had appeared in the middle of the store that was exclusive to Witches and Warlocks only in a puff of green smoke. She had arrived at the store to pick up some medicine for her older sister, Clara's dementia when she had noticed a man in a Swiss Cream-colored tuxedo that looked like her younger brother, Arthur from the back. She was a bit relieved to see him as she had been meaning to apologize to him for the horrible things she had said to him a couple of weeks ago. She had never truly meant the words she had said; she just didn't trust that retched Witch Aretha with her sweet, sensitive, younger brother. She maneuvered her way through the decretive fog that filled the slightly darkened store toward the Warlock, growing increasingly concerned when she noticed how gloomy he seemed to be.

"Arthur? Is that you?" She asked as she lightly tapped him on the shoulder. Much to her surprise, it wasn't Arthur but Arthur's sixteen year old son, Henry or at least he appeared to be physically sixteen; Witches and Warlocks can live up to thousands of years before they show even the slightest age difference. The young Warlock bared a striking resemblance to his Father despite being slightly younger than him and having a much narrower face compared to his pudgy-faced Father.

"Oh, good evening Auntie Endora! Fancy seeing you here!" He greeted politely with a small smile.

"Why yes, I am here picking up some medicine for your Aunt Clara. What brings you here? Shouldn't you be off partying or whatever it is young Warlocks your age do?" Endora asked in slight confusion and concern as she mentally questioned if everything was alright back at his home. The only reason a teenage Witch or Warlock would come to a store like this is if something were terribly wrong with one of their parents. Was something wrong with Arthur?

"Well, ya see? Father's been acting a little strange lately...He's been sleeping a lot and he hasn't been using his magic at all since last Friday so I was just picking up some vitamins for him..." Henry explained in a somber, serious tone, his voice riddled with worry and concern for his Father. Endora was equally concerned for she knew personally that when her younger brother was depressed, his powers either didn't work or were immensely weak. Had that Witch Aretha done something to her younger brother?

"Well, I'd better get back home to Father...I'm real worried about him..." Henry added before disappearing in a puff of Swiss Cream-colored smoke.

"I am too Henry...I am too..." Endora sighed to herself even though Henry had already left.

Meanwhile, Arthur sat at home, alone on his red sofa by the window as he stared out into the rainy weather sadly. Though the rain matched his mood at the moment, he detested it so as it reminded him of that fateful night that his beloved Aretha had betrayed his trust. He had called upon her several times throughout the week and she still had not made an appearance to him. He missed her desperately and mentally wondered if this was the end of their relationship. He wondered what he had done that was so horrendously bad that it would make her avoid him like this.

His puffy, bloodshot eyes had begun to well up with tears again as he ran a hand through his unwashed, disheveled hair before weakly standing up from his sofa and groggily shuffling his way into his kitchen.

"Oh Aretha my sweet...Why won't ya talk to me? Am I a monster to you?" He sniffled to himself before opening his oven and bending over to stick the upper-half of his body into the hot, gas-filled oven to pull out a tray of burnt brownies. Since his powers currently weren't working, he had to resort to cooking meals for him and his son the way mortals do and he obviously wasn't very good at it.

"Oh great...another thing I've messed up...I'm just a fool that fowls up everything he tries at in life...I'm just not good at anything other than bein' a foolish clown that everyone hates..." He sulked as he stepped up onto a chair and strung up a long rope over the support beam of his ceiling.

"Maybe the world would just be better off if i weren't around to bug them..." He sighed before using the rope to manually hang up a bird cage that held a beautiful cockatoo.

"Hey there fella...At least you love me right?" Arthur asked the bird with a small, weak, forlorn smile. The cockatoo pecked his nose through the cage bars in response.

"Ouch!" Arthur yelped as he fell over backward, pulling the bird cage down on top of him.

"I guess I really 'flipped' the bird..." He joked to himself with a light chuckle as the cockatoo escaped from it's cage and flew away. It was then, his son Henry appeared in the center of the living room in a puff of Swiss Cream-colored smoke.

"Father?! I'm home!" Henry called throughout the house before gasping in shock and horror at the sight of his Father laying on the floor.

"Father, are you alright?!" Henry gasped as he rushed over to his Father's aid.

"What are you doing on the floor?! Did you fall?!" He asked as he at first attempted to lift him manually but since he was physically weaker and scrawnier than Arthur he had immense difficulty lifting him and had decided to use his magic to levitate him instead.

"Here, let's get you to bed..." He said when Arthur didn't give him a response. He used his magic to open the door to Arthur's bedroom before levitating him over to his bed. He then twitched his nose to magically change Arthur into his pajamas: a pair of baby-blue, button-up, micro-fleece pajamas, underneath a dark and baby-blue striped bathrobe and a pair of dark-blue slippers before gently using his magic to place him in bed and pull the covers up over him, tucking him in.

"You stay right there Father; i'm going to go prepare your vitamin potion." Henry instructed before rushing off back into the living room. Henry was such a sweet and loving son toward his Father and Arthur definitely picked up on this as he reached over to manually pick up a picture frame that was on his nightstand. In the picture frame was a photograph of Arthur standing next to a woman with a narrow face that slightly resembled Henry's with long, curly, golden-blonde hair and caramel-brown eyes. The woman standing next to him in the photograph was Henry's Mother and Arthur's first wife, Martha.

Arthur couldn't recall loving another woman as much as he had loved Martha. Even though he was head over heels in love with Aretha at the moment, she still didn't and couldn't take the place that Martha had once held in Arthur's heart. Martha never found Arthur's practical jokes annoying. She actually enjoyed them more than anything else and would encourage him to do even more of them. She was the only woman whoever truly loved him for who he was: a prank-loving clown.

Unfortunately, she had died while giving birth to Henry and Dr. Bombay refused to use his magic to bring her back to life, claiming that it was a form of black magic and that she would not be the same when she came back. She would come back as something different, something horrible. Arthur still hadn't forgiven the Witchdoctor after that day and that's why there was often animosity between the two even when Arthur actually needed medical attention. After Martha's death, Arthur was forced to raise Henry on his own, though thanks to Endora, Henry was almost taken out of his custody on numerous occasions due to the fact that he was seen by his older sister as an 'unfit parent' but thanks to his other older sister, Clara and Endora's ex husband, Maurice, they were always able to convince the Witch's Council otherwise and Arthur was allowed to keep custody over his only son and only reminder of his dead ex wife, though Arthur even questioned if he were a fit parent himself sometimes. He broke down crying softly at all of the painful memories and discouraging thoughts right as his son Henry had entered the room.

"Y-Ya know son? Your Mother was suppose to be the one that stayed down here and raised ya...not me...I'm no good at any of this..." He sobbed as Henry gave him a look of both concern and sympathy before approaching his father.

"Aw Father, that's not true...You did a great job raising me...I learned all my magic tricks from the best after all..." He reassured him as he sat the medicine aside on the nightstand before crawling into bed with him like he use to do when he was younger. Arthur smiled and held his son close to him, tears falling as he nuzzled his son lovingly into his warm embrace.

"Fath...er?" Henry spoke up, softly breaking the silence, his voice cracking a bit as he did so.

"Yes son?" Arthur asked gently.

"Are you alright?" Henry finally asked in concern as his own eyes began to fill with tears.

"No son...but I will be..." Arthur replied before Henry fell asleep in his Father's arms.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	6. Heart To Arthur

The sun rose above the clouds, shining in through the window and illuminating Arthur's bedroom. The brunette Warlock winced a bit in irritation at the brightness of the sunlight shining in his face as his crusty eyes began to flutter open. There was something about crying oneself to sleep that made more crust gather at the corner of a being's eyes than usual. He let out a tired yawn before staring down at the sleeping, young Warlock, bundled up in his arms. He smiled down at his son lovingly before planting a gentle kiss on the very top of his head.

"Father...?" Henry yawned as the kiss had awoken him.

"Good mornin' buddy-boy..." Arthur greeted with a tired smile before sitting up and rubbing the crust from the corners of his eyes. He then sighed sadly again upon the realization that he was awake and still very, much alive. Aretha's once beautiful face had haunted his dreams all throughout the night. Her face had once brought him tremendous amounts of joy but now it just filled him with an agonizing sadness.

"Father, are you alright?" Henry asked in slight concern once he noticed the tears forming at the brims of his Father's eyes. Arthur just shut his eyes tightly to hold them back and looked away from his son, unable to speak. It was then Henry remembered something, the vitamins. He quickly used his magic to levitate the bottle of vitamins from the nightstand and into Arthur's field of vision, much to the brunette Warlock's surprise.

"Please take these for me Father..." Henry begged, hoping that the vitamins would strengthen his Father as Arthur took the bottle of pills into his hand. He knew the vitamins would do him no good but he just couldn't bring himself to say no to his son's pleading eyes. He popped open the bottle and reached in to get a pill when he realized that he didn't have a glass of water to wash it down with. He let out a frustrated sigh before attempting to use his magic to poof one up. This of course did not work as he remembered in defeat that his powers currently weren't working due to his emotional state.

He let out another sigh of frustration before standing up to manually retrieve one from the kitchen but much to his misfortune, the lamp cord had entangled itself around his ankle, causing him to trip and fall to the floor, spilling his vitamins everywhere. It was at this moment that Endora had appeared to find her brother laying on the floor, surrounded by pills. She assumed the worse as she instinctively shrieked in horror. She was then relieved when Arthur sat upright in surprise with a small, startled gasp, reassuring her that he was still very, much alive and had not committed suicide.

"What's the matter Auntie?" Henry asked in surprise and concern as Endora cleared her throat and regained her sophisticated composure.

"I came to check on my brother..." She stated matter-of-factly as Arthur picked himself up from the ground.

"Well I'm doin' just fine; thank you..." He pouted, dusting himself off. He was clearly still upset about the things Endora had said to him last week and she didn't blame him; it's always hard to receive harsh criticism from anyone let alone a family member of all people.

"Henry, could you give us a moment please?" Endora asked. Henry obeyed with a small nod as he left the room to give the two siblings privacy.

"Whata ya want?! Come to poke fun at me some more?!" Arthur snarled, the pain and betrayal visible in his eyes as tears welled up in them once again, threatening to fall.

"We need to talk..." She sighed. Arthur turned to storm out of the room but Endora grabbed his hand gently to stop him.

"It's just a talk..." She whispered as Arthur gave in, taking a seat in the chair in the corner of his room. Endora took a seat at the end of his bed to face him. Her regretful, green eyes meeting with the icy-blue eyes that were glaring right into her soul with pure hatred.

"What do ya want?" He demanded once again as Endora let out yet another sigh. Apologizing was always hard for a person that considered themselves 'never wrong'.

"Look Arthur...I didn't mean the things I said...It is true that your pranks can become a bit unbearable at times, especially when we have guests or when we're out at dinner..." She began to ramble.

"Get to the point..." Arthur impatiently cut her off.

"But I do find your pranks rather enjoyable sometimes...Especially when you pull them on Durwood..." She admitted with a small smile. This provoked a smile from Arthur as well but it only lasted for a few minutes before he frowned again.

"What I'm trying to say Arthur is that...I am deeply and truly..." Endora was about to apologize but she was once again cut off by her younger brother.

"You were right..." He choked out, barely above whisper.

"W-What?" Endora asked in slight confusion with a tilt of her head.

"YOU WERE RIGHT! HOW MANY TIMES DO YA NEED TO HEAR IT?! You were right! She was embarrassed to be seen around me! She still is! She won't even appear when I call out to her!

Are ya happy now?! do I get an, 'I told ya so'?! HUH?! DO I?! GO ON AND SAY IT! I don't even care anymore...

YA WITCH!" He sobbed as tears finally began to fall freely from his eyes.

"Oh Arthur...I knew she was going to do this to you..." Endora sighed, her voice riddled with sympathy.

"Because I'm an obnoxious fool of clown right?! Because no woman in her right mind would wanna put up with me?! Ya said it yourself..." Arthur snapped, his voice cracking between sentences as he bit his quivering lip to suppress the urge to begin sobbing like a small child.

"No, because she's no good for you!" Endora corrected, much to Arthur's surprise.

"She doesn't deserve you! She's nothing more than a stuck-up gold-digger and I had a bad feeling about her from the day I first laid eyes on her hideous, plastic, fake face! This is why I wanted you to stay away from her...I knew that hussy never truly cared for you..." Endora admitted to her brother but much to her surprise, he actually appeared offended.

"You're wrong..." He growled darkly as he stood up to grab his Warlock's cane from his closet. His cane was a typical magician cane: a black rod with white tips. With his powers currently on the fritz, he would have to rely on the magic within his cane.

"I'm going to change for the better...I'm gonna become the Warlock she expects me to be and I'm gonna win her back!" He announced with determination before slamming his cane on the floor. The room rattled as a blue aura surrounded both him and his cane then like magic, his Warlock attire had appeared in place of his pajamas.

"Arthur, wait! Don't do this!" Endora called out to him but it was too late, Arthur had already hopped onto his cane and had flown out into the morning sky through the open, bedroom window. Unlike Witches, who sat on their brooms, Warlocks like Arthur stood on their brooms like surfboards as Arthur flew majestically through the light-pink-tinted clouds that were faintly illuminated by the rising sun with a look of determination.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	7. Just The Way You Arthur

Arthur arrived at his niece, Samantha's house a bit later in the day. Traveling by cane, broom, etcetera always took slightly longer than just magically poofing from place to place but when Witches and Warlocks were struggling with their powers they had to rely on the magic placed in their object of choice such as: a broom, a cane or in Clara's case, an umbrella. Arthur hopped down from his cane once it was low enough to the ground, landing on Samantha and Darrin's doorstep. He then took his cane into his right hand and proceeded to ring the doorbell. After a few minutes, Samantha and Darrin's maid, Esmerelda had answered the door.

"A-Arthur? W-What are you doing here?" She asked timidly, appearing slightly taken aback by his all too casual arrival.

"I need to talk to Sammy; is she here?" Arthur questioned, trying not to sound too deflated.

"N-No...Mr. Stevens is at work and Mrs. Stevens has gone to the market to pick up supplies for the guests we're having over tonight..." Esmerelda explained as Arthur's face fell in disappointment. He needed to talk to someone more understanding about his current predicament. Endora was no help at all due to her judgmental personality and Henry was still too young to understand. The only person he trusted more than anyone else with his feelings was his favorite niece, Samantha and she wasn't here at the moment.

"Oh...I guess I'll be on my way then..." He sighed before turning to leave when he felt a soft, gentle hand grab ahold of his. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face Esmerelda in confusion.

"Wait! Is something the matter? I will try to help you in any way I can..." Esmerelda offered. She may not have been mentally of physically strong and her powers may have been on Clara's level, if not worse but a kind-hearted Witch like her, a Witch who truly cared about the well being of others could tell when something wasn't right and Arthur didn't look like himself at the moment. His hair was disheveled and his eyes appeared drained of all life and Esmerelda was determined to help him in any that way she could.

A blush crept across both the Witch and the Warlock's faces once they realized they were holding hands. It felt right for some reason. Arthur's hand was strong, yet soft and warm with soft, silky hairs that matched the color of the hair on his head, lining the top of it along his wrist and knuckles and Esmerelda's hand was sleek, smooth and soft, yet cold to the touch.

"S-Sorry..." Esmerelda apologized before quickly pulling her hand away.

"I-I guess I could stay for a few minutes..." Arthur gave in as he pulled his hand back to shyly rub his shoulder.

"May I take your cane?" Esmerelda offered as she took ahold of the Warlock's cane but he quickly snatched it away from her.

"No! No! No! No! Don't! Don't! You do not take ahold of a gentlemen's rod!" He shouted.

"S-Sorry...!" Esmerelda squeaked before slowly fading away, which she tended to do when she was scared or nervous. She was still there of course, just invisible and Arthur knew this. His glare softened into a look of guilt as he now felt bad for lashing out at the maid-Witch. He didn't mean to be so harsh; his cane was just the only source of magic he had at the moment and he couldn't afford to lose or misplace it plus he wasn't exactly in the best of moods at the moment.

"I'm sorry Ezzy...I'm just goin' through a rough time at the moment..." Arthur sighed before making his way over to the couch and taking a seat.

"What's the matter?" Esmerelda questioned, now finding it safe to fade back into view again.

"Lady troubles..." Arthur replied flatly, not wanting to give away too many details. Truth be told, he was a bit humiliated by the whole situation.

"Like what?" Esmerelda pushed, taking a seat next to him on the couch. Arthur hesitated a bit but he eventually told her the whole story. Esmerelda listened patiently and carefully to each detail of the story. She couldn't help but feel anger boiling within her. Arthur was a charming man with a great sense of humor in her opinion and Aretha was the real fool for not seeing that in him.

"Well if you ask me, Aretha was the real fool here...Arthur, you're a funny, charming, good-looking guy and if she can't see that then who needs here?!" Esmerelda snapped. After thousands of years of being viewed as a clumsy, bumbling, idiot by every Warlock she had attempted to date, she had finally lost it after seeing it happen to her boss' uncle, the uncle she had always secretly found attractive. Arthur on the other hand appeared a bit taken aback by her sudden outburst as he could vaguely make out tears welling up in her eyes.

"You deserve better! You deserve someone who will love you for who you are and I'll tell you one thing if I were your girlfriend I would accept you for who you are! I wouldn't push you away; I would pull you closer to me!" She continued but then blushed from embarrassment once she realized what she had said. She needed to change the subject to remove the attention from herself and fast.

"I-If that were to be the case...Aretha may not be purposely avoiding you at all...Y-You said your powers weren't working, right? W-Well...don't you need your powers to call out to other Witches and Warlocks? Maybe she just can't hear you because of your power failure..." She suggested.

That's when it clicked in Arthur's head, Aretha wasn't avoiding him; she just couldn't hear him call out to her because his powers currently weren't working. A large smile grew across his face at this realization as he stood up from the couch abruptly.

"That's it! Aretha doesn't hate me; she just can't hear me! Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you Ezzy!

You're a life-saver!" Arthur cheered before happily hugging Esmerelda, lifting her from the couch and into the air then spinning around with her in his arms.

"Oh! Oo! Y-You're welcome...G-Glad I could help..." Esmerelda stammered before returning Arthur's hug. She felt yet another blush creeping across her cheeks at the warm feeling of his tight embrace as she inhaled the sweet aroma of his overly-appiled cologne.

Arthur continued to happily dance with Esmerelda as he laughed blissfully, a blue aura surrounding him as he did so. He could feel his powers regenerating in warm bursts of energy coursing through his veins the happier he grew before he finally used his newly-regained powers to disappear into thin air.

"W-What is that man doing to me...?" Esmerelda asked herself before looking around cautiously as if expecting him to reappear. She then grinned before once again taking a seat on the couch.

"Why am I smiling?" She asked herself again before gasping in realization and then shyly fading away into invisibility again.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	8. Reunited At Last

It was late in the afternoon when Samantha and Darrin had returned home from their individual errands. Darrin had gone upstairs to get ready for his meeting with his boss and their newest clients while Samantha had begun fixing up the living room. She started by setting the coffee table then she began fluffing the couch pillows.

"Ouch!" Samantha jumped back in surprise when she could have sworn that she heard one of the pillows cry out in pain. She smacked it again and sure enough it yelped once again in an all-too familiar voice that she recognized as her favorite uncle's.

"Did you say something Sam'?" Darrin asked as he straightened the lapel of his infamous, grey suit.

"No...No I didn't but he did..." Samantha replied as she lifted the pillow to reveal her Uncle Arthur who had shrunken himself down to the size of an action figure in order to perfectly hide behind the couch pillow.

"Sammy, how could ya hit a man when he's down? Get it? Pillow, feathers, down?" Arthur joked with his infamous, loud, bellowing cackle, all signs of his previous depression seeming to have disappeared but unknown to Samantha and Darrin, Arthur still felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety. Today was Valentine's day and tonight was the night that he and Aretha had planned to have their romantic, dinner date together; if Esmerelda was wrong about her not being able to hear him and if he called out to her now that he had his powers fully restored and she still didn't show, he would be in danger of falling into a deep depression again.

"I guess it's true...small things abuse small minds..." Darrin retorted with a roll of his eyes as Samantha glanced over at him then back toward her tiny uncle, who's smile had now begun to fade.

"How would you like to pick on somebody your own size?" Arthur asked threateningly before magically returning to his normal size. He was under a lot of stress and was in no mood for his own nephew in-law's usual, mental abuse toward him.

"Okay digby, start picking..." He growled as he towered over Darrin menacingly but Samantha was quick to step in between them. She didn't want to see her beloved husbanded and favorite uncle fight.

"Uncle Arthur, please..." She begged but it was no use Arthur was already hurt and too angry to be calmed down now.

"What's it gonna be? Fisticuffs?" Arthur asked before magically turning Darrin's hands into oversized, boxing gloves before the raven-haired mortal even had time to object.

"Uncle Arthur, will you cut that out?!" Samantha demanded as Arthur couldn't help but laugh at Darrin's predicament. for the first time in months, he felt like himself again. Nothing made him feel better than picking on people that were weaker than him and then laughing at their misery.

"Oh Sammy, I'm just jousting with him!" Arthur lauded before magically trapping Darrin inside of a suit of armor, complete with a jousting lance.

"Sam?! Tell him to get me outta here!" Darrin began to panic as Arthur laughed at the torment he was causing him.

"If I were you digby, before I got in the office elevator, I'd check my lance." Arthur joked as Samantha couldn't help but giggle along with him. Despite her husband's annoyance, she always enjoyed her uncle's sense of humor. His jokes always brightened her mood especially when she was feeling sad or stressed.

"Uncle Arthur!" She scolded through giggles as she stomped her foot sternly. Arthur finally came around and released Darrin from his medieval prison, returning him to his usual, grey suit.

"There you go...Back to normal...Whatever that is..." Arthur pouted as Darrin glared at the both of them menacingly. Tonight was a very important night for his career and he was really not in the mood for the nonsense that only Samantha's family members could bring about.

"And to think, some people before they go to work just have coffee..." Darrin teased with a small smirk.

"Sweetheart, it's after two-O-clock; you'll be late for your meeting..." Samantha reminded as she began to lead Darrin toward the front door in order to avoid more confrontation.

"Oh, that's right; with all the fun and games I almost forgot!" Darrin gasped as he grabbed his briefcase and began rushing toward the front door.

"Aren'tcha gonna say goodbye?" Arthur asked innocently, just as Darrin was about to leave.

"I guess I am...Goodbye! and the next time you drop in, don't!" Darrin snapped as he turned around to glare at him. Arthur's face fell again and for a moment he actually appeared to be hurt by Darrin's words. It was no secret to anyone that Arthur was quite sensitive but he quickly replaced his look of hurt with a fierce glare.

"Watch it buster...In a war of wits, you're unarmed..." He threatened with a sadistic smirk as Darrin began to mock him bitterly before being shoved out the front door by Samantha. She knew how dangerous her uncle could be when angered and she was determined to protect her husband from his wrath. Arthur waited patiently for his favorite niece to return. He didn't need to eaves drop on their conversation to know that Darrin was telling her to get rid of him.

Darrin never liked him since the day they first met and he knew it. He could always sense the hatred burning in the intense glares that Darrin would always give him whenever he would pop in for a visit and he just knew that Darrin was ashamed of everyone in Samantha's family completely, even Samantha herself. Why else would he force her to give up her magic? He was such a control freak. The next thing he knew he would start telling Samantha that she had to disown her entire family completely and have her powers drained and locked away somewhere.

"Alright Uncle Arthur; let's have it..." Arthur's train of thought was broken by his favorite niece's stern demands.

"Have what?" He asked with a small blink of confusion at the stern glare his niece was giving him.

"An explanation..." She growled as it clicked in Arthur's mind that she was upset about the things he had done to Darrin but then why did she laugh at him when he did them?

"Digby deserved..." Arthur began in self defense only to once again be cut off by Samantha.

"That is not what I'm talking about...How come you're all spruced up?" She asked him as she had only seen Arthur wear his full Warlock attire on special occasions. He usually just wore his favorite blue suit or on days when he was especially feeling casual, his checkered suit with his matching fedora.

"It's the new me...Love it or leave it..." Arthur replied before striking a seductive pose.

"I'm leaving it..." Samantha began walking away but Arthur grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Sammy, it's all part of the new me. The simple, carefree, practical, fun-loving Arthur is gone." He explained proudly.

"You mean all those stunts you just pulled on Darrin were my imagination?" She asked suspiciously.

"Just the last of a long line of memorable funnies...My glorious transformation can be attributed to only one word...Aretha..." He explained in a lovestruck manner.

"Aretha?" Samantha asked in confusion. What was an Aretha? It sounder like a female organ. Was her uncle going to cast a sex change spell on himself? That would explain a lot.

"Aretha my love, I worship you at your feet...Fly to my side and make it toot sweet!" Arthur recited the spell that called upon his girlfriend before nervously glancing down at the floor next to him. A wave of panic began to wash over him again as he silently prayed that Aretha would appear by his side this time. A large grin spread across his countenance when his beloved Aretha had appeared next to him in a puff of white smoke. He was both relieved and ecstatic to see her again as he lifted his gaze from the floor to meet face to face with his beloved girlfriend, whom he hadn't seen in months.

"Arthur darling, how thoughtful of you to call..." Aretha grinned as she placed her dainty hand in his strong, wide one.

"Aw...Mm! Finger lickin' good..." Arthur joked as he kissed the top of her hand gently but lovingly, earning a look of disgust from the auburn Witch.

"Ah! Samantha, allow me to introduce you to Aretha, the love of my life, the Witch soon to be Mrs. Uncle Arthur." Arthur beamed as he placed an arm around The auburn Witch's shoulders.

"Oh! That's marvelous! Aretha, I'm so pleased to meet you!" Samantha grinned in excitement at the good news as she offered her hand out to Aretha for a handshake but Aretha responded by snatching her hand away from Samantha as if the sight of her disgusted her.

"Charmed I'm sure..." She stuck her nose up at her as Samantha smiled awkwardly to hide her anger and annoyance from her soon to be aunt.

"I'm sure..." She repeated sarcastically as the auburn Witch and the brunette Warlock smiled at each other lovingly, just inches away from each other's faces. Today was going to be a long day.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	9. The Ugly Truth

Samantha and Arthur watched as the auburn-haired Witch walked around the room, scanning every, last, tiny detail of Samantha and Darrin's house.

"What a quaint, little place, absolutely charming...Where's the main house?" She finally spoke after a few minutes, which seemed like hours of silence. She was use to living a wealthy lifestyle and living in a much bigger house so she wasn't use to Samantha and Darrin's small, ordinary dwelling.

"This is it." Samantha replied with a sarcastic shrug and a small smirk.

"And where do the servants stay?" Aretha asked as her face contorted into a look of utter confusion.

"Well there are no servant's quarters since we don't have any servants." Samantha replied. The only thing she and Darrin had that was remotely close to a servant was Esmerelda and she didn't even live with them.

"Oh sounds like fun...If my hands weren't so delicate, I would consider trying it myself..." Aretha replied rather coldly as she stared at her fingernails to check her manicure. It didn't take Samantha long to realize just how spoiled and stuck-up Aretha truly was and for the first time, Arthur was beginning to see it as well. He couldn't believe Aretha, the angel, sweet love of his life would say something so cold and rude to his favorite niece but he just forced a smile and overlooked it as Aretha just being in a grouchy mood that day.

"Aretha my sweetness, your loveliness is only surpassed by your understanding..." He smiled politely as Aretha grinned back at him with a small giggle.

"That's not quite the word I would have used..." Samantha grumbled. She saw right through their little act; Aretha was a, snooty, stuck-up gold-digger with a fowl personality and her dear, sweet Uncle Arthur was covering for her rudeness as if he were in complete denial and unknown to Samantha, he actually was in denial. He had been in denial for the past few months but part of him always secretly knew that he should have just left Aretha the very, first time she had hurt him. That thick shell of denial however, was beginning to crack as he was now beginning to see Aretha for who she truly was and he didn't like it.

He felt the urge to do something horrible to her, the same urge she had felt when she had rejected him at Penelope's house. He wanted to hurt her just as badly as she had hurt him and this feeling scared him. His face fell back into a nervous frown as the mixture of fear and anger boiling within him had caused him to let out a few dry coughs. He knew he needed to get away from Aretha fast before he ended up hurting her.

"S-Sammy?! I think I would like to talk to ya in the kitchen!" He panicked as he nervously darted into the kitchen in a cold sweat, leaving both Samantha and Aretha in a state of confusion at the brunette Warlock's sudden outburst. He stumbled into the kitchen, nearly falling over as he clutched the counter top for support. He took in a few deep, shaky breaths to contain his rage. What was happening to him?

He held up a quivering hand and a vase, full of flowers magically appeared in it. He needed to release some of his negative energy before he caused something to break or fall off the shelves, which most Warlocks tended to do when they were angry and they didn't release their feelings. Maurice was the Warlock most commonly known to do this. He turned to face the door to the kitchen as he forced a smile to hide his nervousness from his niece, though it still shown clearly in his ice-blue eyes.

"Uncle Arthur, what's the big...?" Samantha began as she entered the kitchen but then she froze at the all-too unnatural smile plastered across her usually innocent, child-like uncle's countenance. The fear and rage that shown through his eyes combined with his sickening, forced grin made him appear absolutely psychotic and this gave Samantha a sense of uneasiness.

"Sammy...for you..." He spoke in a raspy, shaky tone as he handed the vase of flowers to his niece. She forced a smile herself to hide her concern for her beloved uncle as she politely accepted the vase.

"Aw, thank you...They're beautiful." She thanked with a polite smile, though she couldn't help but wonder what this was all about. Was this even really her uncle or had Aretha kidnapped the real Arthur and replaced him with some deranged clone, set out to destroy the world?

"Smell them..." Arthur ordered with a creepy grin. He felt a sense of guilt for taking his aggressions out on his poor, innocent niece but it was better her than his girlfriend, right? Right?! Samantha kept her smile to hide her fear as she did what she was told, afraid of what her uncle would do to her if she denied his request. As she sniffed the flowers, she was suddenly sprayed in the face by a forceful gush of cold water as Arthur had begun to laugh at her predicament.

"I'm sorry Sammy; I just couldn't control myself..." He apologized weakly, guilt taking over him as he once again clutched the counter top for support.

"I'm having a lot of trouble myself..." Samantha sighed as she wiped the water from her hair and eyes.

"You don't understand; my problem is that Aretha can't stand practical jokes. T-They're below her station. If she knew I were the Titan of Tricks, The Highness of Hijinks, The Prince of pranks, why she'd drop me like a hot potato!" Arthur explained. Changing who he was for the love of his life had proven to be more difficult than he had thought.

"How long are you gonna carry on this masquerade?" Samantha asked disapprovingly. Not only was Aretha a fowl, wretched Witch but she had judged her dear Uncle Arthur severely and was forcing him to change who he was. No wonder her poor uncle was on the brink of insanity; who knows how much mental torture she had put the poor Warlock though over the past, few months.

"Forever if necessary..." Arthur replied sadly, once again on the verge of tears.

"Oh! One of these days you'll just lose control right in front of her!" Samantha argued.

"Never! I love her! the masquerade goes on..." Arthur whimpered, still in denial as he exited the kitchen, returning to the living room as Samantha followed close behind. Aretha was looking at a few photos on the mantel when the brunette Warlock and the blonde Witch had returned.

"Here we are my treasure...Miss me?" Arthur spoke up, gaining the attention of his girlfriend.

"Arthur, let's talk about our honeymoon. I do hope we can go to a fun place." Aretha grinned as the brunette Warlock took a few moments to think about it.

"Hm...Let's see...I've been thinking that we could head to India for some elephant polo." He suggested.

"Oh Arthur, it's so hot in India this time of year; what, with all those untouchables milling about the streets..." Aretha replied as Samantha glared at her disapprovingly. Arthur glared at her as well as he chewed on his bottom lip in annoyance. Aretha no longer appeared beautiful to him as the foundations of her representative had completely chipped away, revealing the ugly, rotten core that lied beneath it, causing her to appear just as ugly to Arthur on the outside as she was on the inside. He swallowed hard to contain his newfound hatred for the auburn Witch as he continued to ignore what his heart and mind were telling him.

"I know a place where you can go..." Samantha interjected but she was cut off by Arthur.

"Thanks Sammy but we still haven't ran out of our own ideas..." He scolded as he had a pretty good idea just where Samantha was about to tell his girlfriend to go.

"I've got it! The perfect place to honeymoon; we'll have complete privacy! We'll take a trip to the moon on Gossamer Wings..." Arthur suggested in excitement as angel wings magically sprouted from his back. He was all-too prepared to handle this little Witch on his own, he was just waiting for her to cross that one, final line and he was going to provoke it.

"What are you doing with those wings on your back?" Aretha asked in disgust and confusion as Witches and Warlocks could fly without wings if they needed to.

"Wings?! What wings?" Arthur gulped nervously as he magically made the wings disappear from his back. He just needed to be who he really was, no representative no matter how nervous it made him. She could either love him or leave him.

"Arthur, I would much appreciate it if you would quit clowning around..." Aretha growled. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Arthur was going to let her have it and he was going to let her have it good.

"You would...?" He growled as Samantha rushed over to his side in a vain attempt to hold him back.

"I think you would be happier if you would clown around a little more..." He laughed sadistically as he magically trapped her in an oversized, clown suit, complete with makeup. Aretha gasped in horror as Samantha joined in on her uncle's cruel laughter.

"Arthur! Get me out of this ridiculous costume! You...YOU CLOWN!" She demanded.

"It takes one to know one!" Arthur mocked, provoking another gasp from Aretha as he and Samantha continued to laugh and poke fun at her predicament.

"Arthur, I'm warning you...Cut out this nonsense!" She demanded once again.

"Aw, alright killjoy..." Arthur gave in as he magically restored her appearance back to the way it was.

"Arthur, you are a silly, witless fool! However there is one constellation, I found out in time..." Aretha snapped before disappearing in a puff of white smoke. Arthur gasped as the realization of what he had just done finally began to sink in and he regretted it. He didn't really hate Aretha he had just let his anger get the better of him and now he really had blown any chances he had with the auburn Witch. His face contorted into a look of sorrow as tears began to once again well up within his ice-blue eyes.

"O-Oh Sammy...You're lookin' at a broken Warlock...rejected and broken beyond repair...I'd turn myself into a doormat except with the way I feel, I couldn't stand the word 'welcome'..." He sobbed as he collapsed onto her couch. Samantha couldn't help but watch with a look of sympathy as her poor, broken uncle had begun to break down crying at the foolish mistake he had made.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	10. Losing Myself

Arthur held his face in his hands as he sat brokenly on Samantha's couch. Tears poured freely from his eyes, causing his hands to quickly become wet and slippery and his face to glisten as he thought long and carefully about the events that had just taken place and his former relationship with Aretha now that he had a chance to take a step back and view the situation. When he first met Aretha, he felt like she was the only Witch for him but now he was beginning to question if she were truly right for him or not. What if he were falling out of love with her? That would be impossible, he kept telling himself but what if it were true?

The truth is that Arthur wasn't crying because he felt heartbroken over his loss of Aretha, he was crying because he felt nothing, he felt numb and this upset him, scared him even. If he had fallen out of love with Aretha, then who would put up with him? It was like Endora had said, no girl in her right mind would put up with him and would he even be able to feel love again after this? Would he be able to view women the same way? Would he be able to view love itself the same way? His train of thought was interrupted when his niece, Samantha had returned downstairs to check up on him.

"Uncle Arthur, you have been moping around the house all day long...Now Darrin will be home any minute; so please, try and pull yourself together..." Samantha begged as she took a seat on the couch next to him. She watched as her uncle turned his head away from her to hide his tear-filled eyes. He reached up to wipe away a few tears as he bit his thumb to keep from sobbing.

"But my life has no meaning...I have loved and lost..." He sniffled as Samantha rolled her eyes at the situation. She just didn't understand what her uncle saw in that Witch.

"Oh my stars...Uncle Arthur you haven't lost anything! You've forced me to be honest with you; Aretha is a phony and so are you for pretending to be something you're not!" Samantha finally admitted her feelings with a nod, earning a glare from her uncle. She expected that though; getting somebody in denial to accept the truth is never an easy task. It was something that took time, effort and patience.

"What am I? A broken-hearted clown?!" Arthur asked brokenly as he stood up from the couch. He then began to laugh maniacally, nearly bursting Samantha's eardrums until his laughter turned into loud, broken sobs of anguish.

"Laugh clown! No one knows your heart is broken!" He screamed to the high Heavens as a baby-blue, Opera, clown costume magically appeared on him, complete with make up.

"Even though you're hardly make believing, laugh clown! Laugh! Even though something inside you's grieving, laugh clown! Laugh!" He sang as Samantha rolled her eyes in annoyance. His singing eventually turned back into sobbing as his appearance returned to normal, due to his magic beginning to fade from the state of grief he was in.

"Sammy, I've got it!" He announced as a brilliantly clever idea began to form in his mind.

"You're going to forget about Aretha?" Samantha asked hopefully as she stood up from the couch.

"No, I'm going to win her back and the only way to do it is to get rid of the one thing that's standin' between us...my character!" Arthur explained, his voice full of excitement as he did so.

"Your character?" Samantha asked in pure shock and absolute horror and confusion. She just wished that Arthur could see what that Witch was doing to him. If she truly loved him then he shouldn't have to change for her.

"I'm going to say goodbye to my practical jokes! I'm going to scatter them to the winds!" Arthur explained with a grin, still in complete denial.

"How are you gonna do that?" Samantha asked curiously with a tilt of her head.

Never mind that Sammy; go check your dinner. You needn't be concerned about me anymore..." He promised with a nod. Samantha gave him a suspicious look but then she turned to head into the kitchen and check on her dinner. She turned around briefly out of suspicion, only to see that Arthur was following her at a distance and with the way he had been acting before, this frightened her as she fearfully rushed into the kitchen out of fear that her uncle had done something to sabotage her dinner.

"Why scatter my practical jokes to the winds, when they would be much more at home here?" Arthur asked himself once he was sure that Samantha was gone and unable to stop him from what he was about to do. He held up his hands as he focused his energy into regaining his powers once again. Since they were weak, he would need to chant his spell out loud instead of just thinking it and making his thoughts a reality.

"Practical jokes...I love applause...Fly from my body and lodge in these walls!" He recited the spell as the house began to rumble. Soon, a blue orb shot from his chest and hit the wall, exploding into a vibrant spark of blue electricity before disappearing completely. The force from losing part of himself was almost enough to cause the brunette Warlock to lose his balance but luckily, he had his cane to keep him on his feet.

"Au Revoir Sammy...The joke's on you..." Arthur coughed out, just barely above whisper as he used the magic in his cane to disappear before his niece would have a chance to return and confront him for the house's unexplained rumbling. It had taken a few minutes longer to find Aretha with only the magic in his cane to guide him but Arthur had finally managed to find her in front of the same Sandwich Restaurant they had met at. She was sitting at one of the outside tables with her friend, Katrina while her other friend, Penelope was sitting in her parked Limousine nearby. The three seemed to be having a conversation.

Arthur began walking toward them quietly so he could hear what they were talking about but he soon wished that he hadn't.

"Good thing ya broke up with that little freak when ya did Aretha; you really dodged a bullet on that one." He heard Katrina say as he watched her playfully nudge the arm of his ex girlfriend.

"More like a li'l-ol' missile..." Penelope joked as the three friends began to laugh. Arthur's eye twitched in anger as he began to feel the intense heat of his powers restoring themselves again. When Arthur was sad, his powers tended to either be weak or not work at all but when he was angry, that was a different story. When Arthur was angry, his powers tended to be stronger, dangerous and even out of his control and without his practical jokes to keep his mood lightened, they were even more deadly.

Arthur's eyes began to glow as stormy, funnel clouds began to form over his head. Not only had Aretha made a fool and a liar out of him but now she had the nerve to make fun of him behind his back?! He began to slowly approach them, leaving scorched footprints on the ground beneath him as he walked. The thunder roared and the wind began to blow, the angrier he got as an aura of blue fire surrounded him.

"It looks like it's going to rain..." Aretha noticed as she looked up at the sky. It was then the vase on the table in between Aretha and Katrina had shattered along with the windows of Penelope's Limousine. All three Witches let out a small shriek of surprise before looking up to see the enraged, brunette Warlock standing there, glaring at them with an ice-cold look of pure and utter hatred.

"Arthur, what are you doing here?! I told you we were done!" Aretha barked furiously but then she let out a gasp as Arthur lifted his arm, forming his hand into a grabbing gesture. A blue aura surround both his hand and Katrina's neck as the elderly, red-headed Witch began gasping for air then without warning, Arthur jerked his hand toward Penelope's Limousine and Katrina was magically tossed into the backseat of the Limo through the already broken window. He then approached Penelope's window with a menacing glare as she stared back up at him fearfully.

"The best thing you'd better do is put this frilly, pink hotdog in drive...Just put it in drive, 'cause if ya try to get out, if ya even say one word to me, if ya even open your mouth to say anything, I will send you and your old, crone of a friend to another dimension so horrible, so chaotic, that it'll make you wish you were never born..." He threatened darkly.

"O-Okay..." Penelope squeaked fearfully as she quickly put her Limousine into drive and began to speed away from the enraged Warlock.

"That was the word!" Arthur called out as he lifted his cane, pointing it toward the pastel-pink Limousine. He then shot a spark of blue fire from the tip of his cane that exploded on the road in front of the vehicle, opening into a fiery, blue, swirling vortex that sucked up the Limo, full of Witches within seconds before closing back up again.

"NO!" Aretha cried out as she began to run toward where the portal and her friends once were but she was stopped by Arthur forcefully grabbing her arms and restraining her.

"LET GO OF ME!" She shrieked as she struggled to get free. Arthur's hands burned her skin to the touch and she couldn't use her magic to escape him because his powers were too strong and they were keeping her trapped within his embrace. Gladys Kravits just happened to notice the two while she was walking home from the grocery store and had mistaken the scene for a robbery.

"Hey you! Stop right there!" She shouted as she began bounding toward them to Aretha's rescue.

"Mind your own BUSINESS!" Arthur roared as he removed a hand from Aretha to wave it at Gladys. When he did this, a strong wave of energy knocked her back, sending her flying into the town's water fountain. The water then surrounded the poor women before freezing around her to hold her in place. Arthur then turned back toward Aretha. He just needed to know.

He pulled her toward himself then began to kiss her forcefully but passionately. She shrieked into the kiss as she struggled to get away from him and he could feel this. It was the only thing he could feel as the passion of his kiss had begun to lighten. He pulled away from her, staring at her in disbelief as he kept her in his firm embrace. She just stared back up at him with a look of both fear and pure hatred. She didn't love him and he no longer loved her either. He was now repulsed by the sight of her as any feeling of love or heartbreak he had felt previously was now replaced with a cold, numb feeling of apathy for the auburn Witch.

He released her from his grasp by roughly throwing her to the ground, provoking a loud, pained grunt from the Witch.

"I hate you...I hate you with a burning passion..." He growled darkly as Aretha stared back up at him fearfully and on the verge of tears. He then looked up toward the sky when he could have sworn he heard his niece calling him. He disappeared in a puff of blue smoke, his strong magic pulling Aretha along with him and freeing Mrs. Kravits from her icy prison, just leaving her to sit there in the cold fountain, sopping wet.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	11. Happily Ever After: Final

"Uncle Arthur, I'm going to start over again and if you're not here by the time I count to three, you've had it!" Samantha threatened as her husband, Darrin entered the kitchen barefoot.

"And so have we...Sam, what's happened?!" Darrin demanded, gaining his wife's attention. Tonight had not gone as planned for the raven-haired mortal as the night had ended in his boss getting knocked unconscious by a boxing glove that had appeared out of nowhere and Darrin losing his shoes when they had stuck to the carpet.

"Well, apparently Uncle Arthur has made up with Aretha and has given us custody of his practical jokes..." Samantha replied as she watched her stressed-out husband prepare an icepack for his boss' head injury. She just knew that her uncle was behind this terrible night of endless pranking and she also knew that he was ignoring her. She had called out to him at least ten times that night and he had not appeared once. She began to threateningly count once again as Darrin rushed back into the living room to treat Larry's head wound. Samantha quickly poked her head into the living room to check on things and see how her husband was doing with his boss and their clients.

"Where am I?" Larry asked in confusion once he finally came to.

"If I didn't know any better, I would think you were in a looney bin..." Their client, Mrs. Rockfield had spoken up as she and her husband both glared at Darrin in disapproval.

"Yes this certainly promises to be an interesting evening; more fun than a barrel of monkeys..." Darrin chuckled nervously as a red barrel that read the words, 'FIRE' on the front of it in white lettering magically appeared in the middle of the living room as if on cue. Darrin, Larry and the Rockfields turned their attention toward the barrel as several monkeys began to climb out of it, jumping onto the conch and running amuck around the living room. One of the monkeys had even climbed onto Larry's shoulders, hanging onto him. Samantha gasped at the sight as she quickly ran back into the kitchen to call upon her uncle again.

"Uncle Arthur, you cut out the monkey business and undo your spell!" Samantha demanded once again as Arthur finally appeared behind her, holding Aretha hostage by her arm in a firm grasp. The auburn Witch forced a nervous grin to hide the fact that anything was amiss out of fear that the brunette Warlock would send her to the same, horrible dimension that he had sent her friends to.

"Hi-ho Samantha my sweet..." He greeted quietly with a psychotic grin, startling his niece as she turned around to face him.

"Don't hi-ho me! You and your practical jokes are destroying us!" Samantha scolded as both the Witch's and Warlock's smiles faded. The three had peaked out through the slits in the kitchen window's shutters at the monkeys that were running and jumping about the living room.

"Oh cute little fellas aren't they?!" Arthur couldn't help but crack up laughing at the sight of his own practical jokes' doing as his power's strong energy field had finally released it's hold on Aretha. She clutched her chest in relief taking in a deep breath of air before giving the brunette Warlock a piece of her mind.

"Not to me they're not! They are ugly, little beasts; no cuter than your practical jokes!" She yelled as Arthur turned around to glare at her menacingly once again. He had, had enough of this Witch; those practical jokes were who he was and they were what made him happy, not her. He certainly cared about them and his well being more than he cared about this killjoy of a Witch and he certainly wasn't going to change who he was for her anymore. Samantha smiled as she could tell that her uncle was finally coming to his senses on this matter.

"Arthur, we are finished for all time and if I never see you again, it will be too soon! Goodbye!" Aretha pretended to break it of with Arthur despite the fact that he had already broken things off with her to spare herself some dignity before disappearing in a puff of white smoke.

"You're right, she's a phony...Stacked like a phony..." Arthur finally admitted to his niece with a roll of his eyes. He seemed not to care about the auburn Witch at all anymore. It was as if she were dead to him. Unknown to Samantha, Aretha was lucky that she wasn't dead after the events that had taken place prior to their arrival.

"Uncle Arthur, I beg of you please undo your spell..." Samantha begged as Darrin angrily entered the kitchen once again.

"Why not? I've lost my love again..." Arthur sighed. He wasn't talking about Aretha however, he was talking about his desire to love in general. He had lost the ability to love or feel compassion for anyone and it was all that Witch's fault. He just hoped that it was only temporary because he was upset.

"That's not all you're going to lose..." Darrin threatened.

"Practical jokes, return to the roost and give Uncle Arthur a great, big boost!" Arthur recited the spell with a grin as any trace of his practical jokes had disappeared from the living room, turning into a blue orb that had returned to the brunette Warlock before absorbing into his chest. Arthur let out a sigh of bliss as a blue, glowing aura surrounded him and the warmth of regaining his real, true love had begun to fill his chest. The three had peaked out through the kitchen's shutters once again as Larry and the Rockfields looked around in confusion at the sudden disappearance of the monkeys and the barrel they had arrived in.

"Okay Sammy...chow..." Arthur disappeared in a puff of blue smoke, leaving Samantha and Darrin to deal with the aftermath. He hadn't gone far though as he reappeared on Samantha and Darrin's roof to sit quietly and do some more thinking. He just felt so bitter, so angry. His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed Esmerelda slowly fading into existence next to him. He felt his anger and hatred melt away when he saw her as she tended to brighten his mood.

"Hello Ezzy..." He greeted with a sad sigh. He just couldn't bring himself to be angry around her for some reason. It was as if her very presence cheered him up when he was down.

"Hello Arthur...I saw what happened..." She admitted as Arthur turned his head to look away from her her. She had remained invisible the whole time and had watched all the events that had just unfolded.

"You're better off without her..." She added as the brunette Warlock let out another sad sigh.

"Why would somebody want to do that to me...? Am I really that bad...? Am I really so annoying that someone would want to just...hurt me for the fun of it?" Arthur asked as his eyes began to tear up once again.

"What?! No! No...None of this was your fault...You're not the bad guy here Arthur; Aretha was just a bully who doesn't realize what she just lost because you're the funniest, most nicest Warlock I know and if you were my boyfriend, I would never hurt you..." Esmerelda explained as she took Arthur's hand in hers. The Warlock's eyes widened in shock from the touch as he felt a blush creep across his cheeks.

"I love you Arthur...I've loved you for a long time and I always will..." Esmerelda finally admitted as her brown eyes gazed lovingly into Arthur's blue ones. There it was, that feeling had returned after Arthur was sure that, that part of him had died after what Aretha had done to him. He felt that all-too familiar feeling of love and compassion and he felt it for Esmerelda, Samantha and Darrin's shy maid.

He didn't care though, Esmerelda was a nice Witch and in all honestly, Arthur would rather spend the rest of his life with someone nice, someone who accepted him for who he was, someone who would allow him to love her and would gladly return his love in a heartbeat, someone that was just as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside than spend it with someone cruel and heartless that wanted nothing to do with him and that only wanted to change everything she didn't like about him. He reached over to take ahold of Esmerelda's other hand as he gazed into her eyes just as lovingly. Esmerelda felt a blush creep across her cheeks as well as the Warlock of her dreams had leaned in to passionately kiss her on the lips. Esmerelda was surprised by the sudden kiss at first but then she gradually kissed him back just as passionately, her eyes fluttering shut in pure bliss as the Warlock pulled her closer to his warm body. It felt like nothing she had ever felt before. His lips were warm and moist and his breath had a sweet taste to it that she really couldn't describe or compare to anything. It just tasted like Arthur and that taste was sweeter than any candy or desert she had ever tasted.

He sucked on her lips tenderly before gradually slipping his tongue into her mouth. Her eyes shot back open, wide with surprise at the sensation as she had never French kissed anyone before. She just let her eyes flutter shut again as she allowed the brunette Warlock's tongue to explore the inside of her mouth, tightening her lips around his tongue and proceeding to suck on it gently in order to pleasure the Warlock. His tongue felt strong and muscular and had a slightly metallic taste to it as it wrapped around her tongue lovingly before pulling her tongue into his mouth. She had copied the Warlock's actions by using her tongue to explore the inside of his mouth as well. The inside of his mouth felt softer than hers and felt warm and inviting.

After a few minutes of pleasuring Esmerelda by sucking on her tongue as well, Arthur pulled away with a flirtatious smirk as Esmerelda appeared dazed and lovestruck.

"Did ya like that baby?" The brunette Warlock asked the maid Witch flirtatiously with a small smirk.

"Are you kidding?! That was incredible! B-But how did it feel to you?" She asked sheepishly.

"Well Ezzy, I feel like I'm in love again..." The Warlock replied with a lovestruck smile as the two happily shared another kiss under the moonlight.

THE END...


End file.
